Departing councilwoman recalls 16 years in city hall

The third time was a charm for Loretta Schneider. It took the longtime Cape Girardeau councilwoman three times to get elected to a city council seat.

She first was elected in April 1981, becoming the first woman to serve on the council.

Schneider served on the council for the next five years. She returned to the council in April 2005. When her latest four-year term ends in April, she will have served on the city council for 16 of the last 35 years.

She said she initially decided to run for council because she thought a woman could do as good a job as a man in governing the city. Since her first election, more women have run and been elected to the council.

Women candidates were uncommon in the 1980s, she recalled.

"At that time, too many women were waiting for their husbands to tell them how to vote."

Today, she said, "women have become more independent thinkers."

When voters returned Schneider to the council in 2005 to fill an unexpired term, women outnumbered men on the council four to three. Schneider said at the time women bring a more conciliatory approach to problem-solving.

"We have learned in raising families how much compromise is involved and how much we have to listen to all sides," the Southeast Missourian quoted her as saying.

When Schneider first was elected, the city had no city charter, no ward system and no term limits. Council members were elected at large. Voters approved the city-charter form of government in November 1981, necessitating the need for new council elections.

In November 1992, voters approved the city's ward system. One council member is elected from each of six wards. Only the mayor runs at-large now.

In April 1996, voters adopted term limits for council members. As a result, council members are limited to two consecutive four-year terms. Schneider, in Ward 4, and Councilman Mark Lanzotti, in Ward 5, will see their service on the council end this spring because of term limits.

Even with a ward system, Schneider said she believes council members look at what is best for the city as a whole. But she added the ward system makes it easier for residents in each ward to know who to contact when they have concerns.

While on the council, Schneider has worked with three mayors: Howard Tooke, Jay Knudtson and Harry Rediger.

"They have all been very different," she said of their management styles. "They tend to do the job how they choose."

Schneider remembers when the city council held its study sessions in the city manager's office, and council members could smoke.

"I would be in there for 15 minutes, and I would start coughing," she said.

Council study sessions used to be held Monday nights, followed by the council meetings Wednesday nights.

"We had long council discussions," she said,

When Tooke served as mayor, the council regularly went out for ice cream after the meetings, Schneider said.

Schneider, who has had careers in education at Notre Dame Regional High School and Southeast Missouri State University and in real estate, said she consistently ran on a platform of "good government and quality of life."

For years, she served as an election judge, a reflection of her longtime interest in government and politics.

"The better our citizens are informed, the better our community will be," she said.

While she will step down from the city council early next month, Schneider said she plans to remain in her hometown.

"I have lived here all my life. I am not going anywhere. I love Cape Girardeau. I think it is a great place to live," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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